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Lucky mum Jo Joyner

Jo Joyner is "lucky" to have her twins.

The 'EastEnders' actress who had son Freddie and daughter Edie on December 7 with her husband Neil Madden thinks it was a "miracle" when she fell pregnant after undergoing In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) treatment last year.

The couple who married in July 2007 had tried to conceive naturally for years and were terrified after being warned they might never have children.

Jo said: "It was very scary when we were first told. It was like our world had fallen apart around us.

"But we're very lucky. It's a miracle really."

Jo decided to speak out about her struggles to conceive after finding it difficult to gather any positive information about IVF.

She explained: "When we first found out we were going to have IVF I was constantly searching through the press and the media. I could only find scientific stuff. I really wanted to hear positive news. I just really wanted someone to go, 'It's all right. It doesn't mean you'll never have kids. It is possible.' "

Although she was delighted to fall pregnant, Jo found it difficult to accept she wouldn't conceive naturally and went into a "mourning period".

She explained: "It is very scary and it's quite sad. You kind of have a mourning period for the route you thought you might take. All the natural things you take for granted. So you just have to kind of go, all right, that's not our way.

"We were also very clear we wanted a family, and not necessarily clones of ourselves. So adoption was an option."